A Final Wish
by Jai Ci
Summary: An account of the night by the Highwind shared by Tifa and Cloud, told by Tifa's POV


**A Final Wish**

* * *

Happy Notes of DOOM!

Wow, I actually wrote a romance fic, who would have thought? I started writing it after my Biology final because we were stuck in there for three hours and I really had nothing to do. I'm still not sure where the inspiration for this came from but I got to work on it immediately. When it was all said and done and I re-read what I had written, it seriously didn't sound like I wrote it. It was also very weird writing this in first person and assuming the role of Tifa, especially since I'm not even a Cloud fan girl (that's Duh-chan's department, I personally prefer S3ph3r-s4m4). Whether it's any good or not, I really don't know because I've never written in this style before, so I leave it for you to decide!

Nakani: ...Are you done yet?

Jossy: Yes, now time for the disclaimer slave!

Nakani: ¬.¬;; If any of you out there actually thinks that Jossy does own Final Fantasy VII or anything related to it then call your nearest loony bin and order a room because you belong there.

Jossy: T.T Why do you constantly bash me in your disclaimers?

Nakani: Can I go now?

Jossy: Get me some pocky and I'll think about it.

Nakani: Cynical, pocky-obsessed, bit—

Jossy: Did I ask for a title? Just get me my pocky already!

**:: **

Everyone had left. I had no idea if I'd see any of them again. For all I knew, it would be just Cloud and me fighting Sephiroth tomorrow. The idea of Cloud fighting him is very ironic to me. He left Nibelheim to become just like him, but ended up hating him in the end. Sephiroth...I didn't think it was possible for one man to ruin the lives of so many people. I find him to be on the same level as Shinra, he took everything from me, from Cloud too. Everything in these last five years seemed to have happened so fast but at the same time it's almost as if it all dragged on. These last five years were the longest and shortest five years in my life. Every time I think I have things under control it slips away from me. It's like the world keeps spinning under my feet and when I go to take a step I fall. I've failed him a lot. I know I have. I should have...I should have told him the truth in the beginning, maybe things might not have been so bad if I had just told him. He might have come to his senses sooner and this would probably be finished by now. I was scared though. Just like I'm scared to tell him how I feel. It would be easy for her...for Aeris. She was always able to tell him things I wouldn't dare. She was always so confident, so optimistic, and so sure that things would go right. Always talking about the future...I guess in some ways I wish that I could have those same qualities. I'm usually afraid to say what's in my heart. I'm afraid of what could happen, whether or not I'll be taken seriously, if I'll be laughed at or just mocked. But what makes me so scared, so insecure? Why is it I feel this way? Why couldn't I tell him before she came along or even before he left Nibelheim? I know we were just kids then but...that same feeling I have now, was there that night at the well. I know because when he left the next day, there was a gap, a gap I felt until I saw him again when Barret brought him to the bar. I could never fully express the happiness I felt when I saw him walk in.

I turn my thoughts back to Aeris. He was always happy when she was around. Everyone was, myself included. She sacrificed herself because she wanted to protect him. And what have I done? My attempts to protect him just end up getting him hurt. How could I ever measure up to her? He must have loved her I know he did. I just wish I could get the nerve to tell him how I feel.

"Tifa?" I turn around in the chair I'm sitting in and see Cloud walk in. He walks to where I'm sitting. I notice he's a little out of breath but his face is flushed from the adrenaline from fighting monsters outside. I smile and watch as he sets his clunky sword to the side and then leans against the control panel I'm sitting next to.

"Training?"

"Yeah, not sure if it's going to do me much good though." He pauses and looks up for a moment then shifts his attention back to me. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just thinking, that's all."

"What about?"

"Tomorrow." I pass my fingers through my bangs and sigh, mostly in frustration of myself, still unable to tell him how I feel.

"Don't worry about it Tifa, everything will be alright." He smiles at me, "I promise."

I can't help but feel comforted by him, "Thanks Cloud."

"Come on, let's go outside. The sky looks beautiful." He grabs my hand, pulling me out of my chair and begins to run. I start to run with him but slip, and he catches me. "Better yet..." a look of curiosity comes over his face, like that of a child when he's about to ask his teacher something either very important or extremely pointless. This is followed by a smirk, which assures me which one it's going to be. "When was the last time we raced?"

I tilt my head and while processing the fact that Cloud is still holding me from when I slipped, begin to think back. "I don't know, I can't remember. Is this excuse to see me fall again?"

"Nah, I just want to see if you're still as good as you used to be." He shifts me back on my feet.

"As good as I _used_ to be? I don't care how much training you've had since we were kids, I could still whip you in a race!"

"Oh really?"

"Better believe it!"

"Well let's test that theory." We line up side-by-side, ready to run. "On your mark..."

"GO!" I call out dashing ahead of him, bolting out the door and down the hall, then rushing up the stairs and out the door.

"Tifa! You cheater!" I hear him laughing as he rushes to catch up with me. I jump over the railing on the deck of the Highwind and stop in front of a boulder, laughing but struggling for breath at the same time. I look up to see him jump over the rail and run to where I am. We laugh for the longest time it seems and then finally calm down.

"Told you I could beat you!"

"Yeah but you cheated!" He laughs and rubs the top of my head.

"You just said a race, you didn't say a thing about rules!"

"Oh so is that how it is?" He taps me on my arm and then jumps back with his fists up. "It's like this right?"

"No, you have to have them like _this_," I get in my fighting stance.

"Oh I see now," he says adjusting his arms. He puts them down and sits on the ground, then pats the spot next to him. I walk over and sit beside him. "So why did you take Martial Arts lessons?"

"Well I," I pause for a second. _Why_ did I start taking them? Well there were the monsters that started showing up and I guess...I guess I was just a little restless. Everyone began leaving for Midgar or something of the like and I needed something to put my energy towards. "I need something to do I suppose. You know Nibelheim, nothing much happened there."

"Yeah, you're right about that," he says as he stretches and then lies back with his arms folded behind his head. I watch him as he gazes into the sky and then look up with him. He's right the sky does look beautiful. I look back to him and study the childlike awe in his face. It's at that moment a thought crosses my mind. I've lost Cloud so many times. I lost him when we were still kids, then again just a day after I saw him for what I thought was the first time in five years, and then _again_ when he was out of it. I could lose him tomorrow too. I could lose him again and he'll never know how I feel for him. I've been lucky this whole time, but what if my luck runs out. What if I lose him and never see him again. This could be my very last night with Cloud. I can't keep putting it off, I can't keep telling myself that I'll tell him tomorrow, I know I have to take this chance. I know that no matter how afraid I am I've got to tell him.

"Cloud..." I whisper his name, still a little nervous. His Mako eyes immediately dart to meet my brown eyes.

"What is it Tifa?"

"I've never had the nerve to tell you before, I still don't now but I know I have to tell you now. I know I could never measure up to Aeris, or ever have the affection you felt toward her. I'd never be able to make the sacrifices she made for you...but it doesn't mean that if given the chance I wouldn't. I just need you to know that I...I love you. I always have, and I always will. There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you." I pull my knees to my chest and rest my head on my knees and close my eyes. There's silence. It's then that I feel two strong arms wrap around me. I slowly lift my head and find myself in Cloud's embrace. Resting my head on his chest he pulls me closer to him.

"The affection I have towards you I can hardly begin to say. And the sacrifices you've made on my behalf are much greater than you're giving yourself credit for. I wouldn't give you up for anything, and I mean _anything_. I love you."

I still don't know what tomorrow is bringing but now, it doesn't seem so bad because...he knows I love him.

**::**

Completely not my style! I swear this doesn't sound like I wrote it! o-o;; So this is where you guys come in! Was it good? Did it suck beyond the suckiest thing possible? Well to submit all of your reviews, death threats, and flames all you have to do is click the little button next to the drop-box thingy! Come on, you know you want to! Today the flames you send me shall be used to make some toast! So don't deny me of my toast and review already! That being said, what are you doing still reading this? Go review already! Or Nakani will beat you with his crutches...okay so maybe he won't...but you should review anyway. Every time you submit me a review you save a glowy from extinction. So SAVE THE GLOWIES! And review! (Oh and btw I don't own t3h glowies either! See I don't own anything! The Glowies belong to somebody on FictionPress...I'm so sorry I forgot your name! .) o-o;;


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